They completely screwed up the loot system to promote the auction house. Inferno's difficulty curve is too steep, yet the loot rewards aren't exciting AT ALL, you just hope you get an item with good rolls, sell it on the auction house to buy stuff on it. And Diablo is all about the loot, it's the reason why we run higher difficulties.

I gave D1 and D2 high scores on another site, but this game is hands down the worst Diablo I've played, don't let some of the decent reviews fool ya, if you played D1 or D2 you're gonna most likely hate this game, if you haven't played either you might enjoy it. I am seriously at a lose for words on this game that is how disappointed I am with it.

Diablo 3 is a lot like StarCraft 2, if you liked the others you will like the new one; but if you we're looking for some new innovative and creative upgrades from the previous games then you will be very disappointed, like me. The background graphics are better than the actual environments you fight in, which are very boring and stale. Building up your character gets boring around level 30Diablo 3 is a lot like StarCraft 2, if you liked the others you will like the new one; but if you we're looking for some new innovative and creative upgrades from the previous games then you will be very disappointed, like me. The background graphics are better than the actual environments you fight in, which are very boring and stale. Building up your character gets boring around level 30 and there are only a few interesting, unrepetitive, enemies throughout the game.

I wish I could trade in my copy now to get as much money back as possible but because of the online connection and serial code required to play this game once you buy it you must keep it. Blizzard really needs to get its butt in gear if it plans to keep its fans because SC2 was a huge disappointment and now they have failed to deliver with Diablo 3. Blizzard, your fans need more than just a stale storyline and upgraded graphics. Try creating more interactive environments, different routes and decisions for quests, open environments, special multiplayer concepts (not just co-op). You (Blizzard) are destroying great series' of games and you not learning or listing to your fans; they want more than just new graphics and a one-way story.…Expand

Far too linear, far too easy at earlier difficulties, auction house, silly random loot generation (str/int gear?!), weird loot drops (weird mix of attributes, no sense of progression), oversimplifying the game - limited to only 6 buttons to use while the game offers a great deal of fun, if situational abilities, which you will never use as a result.

The game's story is a joke. Uncharismatic characters, predictable bosses. Do not have an element of suspense as the previous ones. Blizzard promised too much with this game and failed.
The company seemed much more concerned with the auction system than with the game.

The game is fun but it's nothing groundbreaking. If you played Diablo 2 (D2) then you've played this game. The only improvement in my eyes is that you now pick up gold by walking over it instead of having to click on every single pile. The addition of forcing you to have a constant connection to the servers is annoying and should never have been implemented. I was never one to play D2The game is fun but it's nothing groundbreaking. If you played Diablo 2 (D2) then you've played this game. The only improvement in my eyes is that you now pick up gold by walking over it instead of having to click on every single pile. The addition of forcing you to have a constant connection to the servers is annoying and should never have been implemented. I was never one to play D2 online and I only ever played with friends when we were on a LAN so forcing me to connect to Blizzard servers is extremely annoying. They have issues, have maintenance, or any other issues and all of a sudden I can't play a game I paid for. I honestly think that D2 is a better game solely because I can play it without an internet connection.…Expand

I am sorely disappointed in the game. First off the only online DRM makes it cumbersome to play, and weekly maintenance? I feel like I am playing an MMO. The graphics are a step up from D2, but are reminiscent of 2004-2006, and do not evoke any nostalgia from the earlier titles in the series - hell, there is no light radius! That was a great feature in the original games. The story isI am sorely disappointed in the game. First off the only online DRM makes it cumbersome to play, and weekly maintenance? I feel like I am playing an MMO. The graphics are a step up from D2, but are reminiscent of 2004-2006, and do not evoke any nostalgia from the earlier titles in the series - hell, there is no light radius! That was a great feature in the original games. The story is quite bland, and even the characters that follow you throughout the game do not grow on you; however, I do enjoy the retorts of the companions and their interactions with the player. Those characters are much more fleshed out that even... wow, I actually forgot the name of the girl who is the centerpoint of the story! Aha! Leah, wow. I was going to just sit and think for a bit and keep typing her name, but the fact that I am an avid roleplayer (both paper and pencil and classic RPGs) and I could not remember a leading NPCs name says something to the quality of the storyline.

The constant patching and downtime is expected in the early weeks of a new game, but this was not meant to be an MMO, but rather, staying true to its predecessors, a single player game with LAN or battle.net connectivity. So if I do not play online I cannot use the Auction House? I don't care. I would gladly make a character on battle.net and play online with support and have my offline skirmisher for when I had 30 mins or so to kill. D2 even had the open battle.net option where I could bring my offline character online and search for other players. On gameplay, I can understand removing the town portal and auto-identifying items to make the game more fast paced, and the new skill system has its merits, but I feel that one thing is to streamline the playthrough, and another thing entirely is to simplify it down to the point that it loses all appeal other than left click kill, left click loot, left click move. Inventory management, skill or talent choices, visual character customization!!!!, to name a few examples are part of action-RPGs. The devil is in the details, and I would say that this proverb is even more true in a game titled Diablo. There is something severely missing in Diablo 3, I have come to the realization that I have been able to play for this long because I have been grouping with the same two friends to progress together, but honestly I have rarely played solo much - the first act I did alone and enjoyed it greatly I will admit. I believe that this act is the most faithful to the franchise - if they added darker lighting effects and a fog of war or light radius if would truly be creepy and Diablo-esque. However, the random idiot yellow robed cultists and the purple flying faerie that COMPLETELY deter my immersion into the game, please make them black robed even if it's generic and have the purple faerie witch be less flamboyant - and without WINGS!!! arg!!!

To summarize, this game seems to have lost its direction and is not worthy to be named a continuation of the Diablo legacy. I hope that Blizzard sees this and reviews its decisions with this game for future endeavors. I have no hopes for any significant changes in a game that is free-to-play, sadly -- Blizzard already got my $60 and well I guess that price for a few weeks of gaming isn't so bad -- there is no monthly subscription (thank God) which is the biggest incentive in online games to make changes. Play the demo (they should have a 3-day pass offer still) before you decide to invest in this game. Hopefully you will get to Act 2 and see how far it diverges from the spirit of the series.…Expand

Catastrophic disaster. The story is bad, the graphics are obsolete, pay-to-win, takes no skill to actually play the game. And with the latest v1.0.3 they infinitely ruined the game; Repair bills are way too high which forces to grind endlessly. They also nerfed the drop rate of loot considerably so you are force to use the Real-Money Auction House

Crappy story , WoW-ish graphics , and awful itemization .. The game is dumbed down .Almost all choice posibilities are taken from the players .. There is no build diversity in inferno .. Only 2 or 3 builds remain viable .. The game is too auction house centric .. All in the name of greed ..

"Diablo 1.5"
This game has nicer graphics than Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. It has a shared stash and some nifty little features like that. Other than that most of what players care about have been cut out of the game or reduced down to almost a child-level of simplicity.
Compared to Diablo II: LOD, there are:
Less users per game, less items, less heroes, less customization, less"Diablo 1.5"
This game has nicer graphics than Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. It has a shared stash and some nifty little features like that. Other than that most of what players care about have been cut out of the game or reduced down to almost a child-level of simplicity.
Compared to Diablo II: LOD, there are:
Less users per game, less items, less heroes, less customization, less secret levels, less hero levels, less workable builds, less item affixes, less item types, no runewords, no jewels, no stats on heroes, no charms, no custom room names, etc. The list is extensive and I recommend dropping by the official forms: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/3354739/ and asking there if you should buy the game or not, BEFORE YOU BUY IT. You have been warned!…Expand

Game was essentially ruined by the real money auction house due to bots automatically buying all the good items on the gold auction house and relisting them for ridiculously high prices. Players are left asking themselves whether to bother competing with bots on the AH, or to instead spend hours grinding for gold in order to upgrade their gear.

I have completed Diablo 3, it took me 16 hours, the game was fun from start to finish. The biggest problem with Diablo 3 is that it is very easy to complete and it has no end game content. Once I complete a game I typically do not replay it unless it has been many years and the story was exceptional. So I have a character that is level 30 and I'm done. There seems to be 30 more levels andI have completed Diablo 3, it took me 16 hours, the game was fun from start to finish. The biggest problem with Diablo 3 is that it is very easy to complete and it has no end game content. Once I complete a game I typically do not replay it unless it has been many years and the story was exceptional. So I have a character that is level 30 and I'm done. There seems to be 30 more levels and an auction house but I'm not sure what the point of those are since I have completed the game. Although what I experianced of D3 was fun and entertaining it was surprisingly short and lacking in end game content. I was expecting more from Blizzard, I don't imagine it would have been to hard to create 10-15 end game maps where players could spend sometime fighting a few new bosses to finish the level cap. The games seems like it was rushed to market. Game play is simple and old school... all you are getting are the cut scenes that continue the Diablo story.…Expand

Well I have to applaud Blizzard in all reality. From a business stand point it would seem like you're on the perfect track to make the shareholders at Activision very pleased.

You've taken a game with so much hype built around it, a game with a rabid and wildly large fan base, a game vaulting off of the massive success of the previous generation - and you've turned it into yourWell I have to applaud Blizzard in all reality. From a business stand point it would seem like you're on the perfect track to make the shareholders at Activision very pleased.

You've taken a game with so much hype built around it, a game with a rabid and wildly large fan base, a game vaulting off of the massive success of the previous generation - and you've turned it into your sacrificial lamb.

I understand that WoW is dying. The cash cow that you have been able to depend on to fill your coffers is finally drying up. It had a great run. MoP is not likely to defibrillate the failing heart of what was once the WoW empire, and you know this. Starcraft 2, while an amazing game, cannot replace this cash cow - then again it wasn't meant to. How could it? Your business foresight is very attuned. Because of this you carefully planned your next chess move: Diablo 3.

What better way to birth another golden goose than to bank an entire game off of the most addictive part of what Diablo 2 was: the item grind. Pure brilliance. And so, from the ground up, you formed this game to be solely about item exchange - this would be the titan built to replace WoW's subscription based bankroll in the form of micro transactions.

Except one thing: you're boring.

On May 15th 2012, after nearly a decade of anticipation, we were given Diablo 3! Except, it's not quite Diablo 3. It's a slimmed down, cut up version of the Diablo 3 everyone was taught to expect. Except, it wasn't given to us, we still had to pay you full price for it: $60.

My how the mighty hath fallen. Why is it not Diablo 3, you say? Well let's see. Anyone remember all those teaser videos spoon fed to the community over the past 3 years? Videos slowly leaking to us glimpses of the content we could expect to experience? I do.

If their idea of newly generated fights, quests and environments is a continuous cycle of the same things from a pre-conceived list, he's spot on!

So where's the beef? - some might say. The beef is that this is not Diablo 3, this is an imposter. A hologram. An artificial replacement. A lame duck substitute for what hype built it up to be. A cut up and slimmed down version of what should have been. In essence: a slaughtered, sacrificial lamb.

That leaves myself and thousands of others saying indeed, where is the beef? Blizzard's answer: there is no cow level. But hey, we got rainbows and unicorns!

Is anyone still in complete denial about how truly boring this game is or have people started to shake off the honey moon dust?

You eliminated enchanting, PvP, pet companions and other things from the release version so that you could market it as part of a later expansion for more money. (This is a trend in gaming that several developers have been following; withhold content you've been advertising for the past two years and charge a premium for it at a later date. I shouldn't have expected Activision-Blizzard to be any different, shame on me.

You didn't include a single player mode because you can't make money off of people if they aren't using the AH in a multiplayer format. Less work for you in the development stages, and forces people to engage in the micro-economy that your bankroll is based on. Again, brilliance. Which leads me to my final point

There is so LITTLE dynamic to this game I cannot believe it took this many years to create it. In fact, I don't. So why the long wait? I'll tell you: economic law. Years to iron out the legal details for a global launch of RMAH.

It doesn't take an overly intelligent mind to figure WHY they would want to use a RMAH and get a cut of (a lot of) the transactions. That's fine. Here's the problem: you built the entire game around a pure gear grind, and then force that gear grind to revolve around the AH, specifically the RMAH. There is literally no other dynamic. When you build a game from a purely business stand point, you're not building a great game - and a great game this is not.

In conclusion, gamers, do you really want to spend your time on yet another slave-like gear grind? If so, eat your heart out. You'll find no better place to do it! If not, there are a plethora of other games out there much more deserving of your $60, I promise…Expand

I just paid $60 for an error message. This game is worthless until Blizzard can fix the connection problems. Until then, I'll be looking into how to get a refund. I'm so sick of being disappointed by new PC games.

Reason for a 0 score:1) Put in an always online requirement without putting up the required infrastructure support for all players wanting to play a game at all time. - Since they make it a requirement for people who just want to play a single player session to log on ALL the time and comms with the server ALL the time, then they should have made sure that their server capacity are bigReason for a 0 score:1) Put in an always online requirement without putting up the required infrastructure support for all players wanting to play a game at all time. - Since they make it a requirement for people who just want to play a single player session to log on ALL the time and comms with the server ALL the time, then they should have made sure that their server capacity are big enough to support the increase server load. Moreover they could have put in place more server in more region, so that they can maintain the server during midnight, when most people of the region are sleeping. Instead, they only put up 3 server and this make it very likely that there will be high server load all round the clock. Obviously they just want to milk the cash cow.

2) reducing the loot drop and quality to a ridiculously low level just to cater to the supposedly increase availability of gears from the Auction house. Basically they say that they take into account the availability of Auction house when deciding on the loot table. And going by the current drop rate, they expect ALL players to use the Auction house in order to supplement the loot drop if they want to progress at a reasonable pace without excessively tedious and long grinding process. Now this might appeal to some players and other who have complaint about the gold seller and other loot buyer in D2. But for people like me who just want to play the game and play multi session with friends on occasion, it breaks the immersion of the game and it seems that now I cannot ignore the Auction House now (whereas in D2 I don't care since what other people do does not affect me) and I will not be able to progress in the game without excessive frustration if I don;t partake in the Auction House. This is probably in the grand plan too, so that when Real Money Auction House comes online, more would be tempted to put up the better gears there and buyers will be forced to use RMAH if they want the legendary/rare gears.

3) Skill tree - or lack there of. Now this is more of a personal choice. Some embraces it, but to me, it actually make me feel less diversity in my character. Technically there are thousands and thousands of combination I can play with, but the thing is, if I create 2 witch doctor, they would have access to the EXACT same skill set. And this means that once the game mature, there would be even more cookie cutter build than what blizzard is admitting now. 4) Hacking and their customer service. Hacking ... I can accept that it may happens and loop holes may happen. But Blizzard seems to be in denial and their fan boys are up in arms over claims of people been hack, even blaming the victim! This is perverse logic and it really turns me off that Blizzard actually condone such behaviour on their forum. On the other hand, they have been removing the post of the players who are overly critical and impolite about their opinion (which doesn't surprise me since it has been happening since a few years ago, when blizzard start to get a big ego). And they seems to disregard the well documented case of a few players who have ONLY their current player's loot compromise. They keep saying that the players are at fault and most likely reason is keylogger/phishing and what not. But if that is the case - a) why did some players only had one character's loot compromised and not the others? if the hacker really get their hand on the user name and password, then he would have sold ALL the gears from ALL the characters.b) Why is it that only their blizzard account is compromised and not their more valuable bank account? And don't make me laugh by saying that the hackers are sitting on the account. Once they get their hands on the credential, they would quickly cash out, since the over time, it is more likely for the user to detect the compromise.

4) Which brings me to the next point - inadequate security. Until recently the password is not case sensitive and does not log you out after repeated tries. It seems that blizzard is simply skirting their responsibility and telling everyone to get an authenticator to increase their security? for a game?! And if so, why is it not included in the game itself if it is so important?

5) patch by stealth - and I really disliked the tendency of Blizzard to patch by stealth and not publicly admitting that they have loopholes.

And to those Fanboys, you have been saying give the game some time, and it is now coming to almost 3 weeks and their server has NOT been improving and lag is still present even when you can play. now accounts actually start to get hack. So I truly will return the game and not buy another Blizzard product again. Those who bought it online and those whose country support lemon law, I would encourage you to do the same.…Expand

The auction house is horrible, you cant filter more then 3 affix, witch is necessary to find good items needed to progress in the game.
Bots, A LOT of bots, creating an inflation of the gold.
Required an online connection, witch comes with lag (FROM THE SERVER! WTF).
The difficult starts only in Inferno difficult, witchGood game until you reach level 60, than the hell begins.

The auction house is horrible, you cant filter more then 3 affix, witch is necessary to find good items needed to progress in the game.

Tired of playing the same crpg over and over and over for the last 15-20 years? Want something refreshing, surprising, innovative and challenging instead? Don't look here. If you're into seeing the state of the computer roleplaying game go absolutely nowhere, buy Diablo III and tell the corporation that paid for it that all you want is more.

Okay, this game is just AWFUL. And this is coming from someone who spent over 100 hours on it and beat the game on Inferno with my Wizard so I've given the game more than its fair chance. The first couple of times of beating the game are very fun, especially with friends, I will hand it to Blizzard. The art is nice, the music is not bad, and the environments are somewhat interesting. ThenOkay, this game is just AWFUL. And this is coming from someone who spent over 100 hours on it and beat the game on Inferno with my Wizard so I've given the game more than its fair chance. The first couple of times of beating the game are very fun, especially with friends, I will hand it to Blizzard. The art is nice, the music is not bad, and the environments are somewhat interesting. Then you reach the brick wall that is known as Inferno (the hardest difficulty) and you realize what Blizzard has been planning all along.

The mobs in Inferno suddenly become godlike and all your gear becomes instantly obsolete. Elites and even regular mobs will kick your ass unless you upgrade your very quickly. To make matters worse the game PUNISHES YOU for playing co-op on Inferno, the already disgustingly difficult mobs become near godly and unless you and your friends are supremely geared it's going to be an excruciating exercise in futility. Problem is that 95% of the loot you get in Inferno is literally garbage, so bad that even the NPC vendors will be reluctant to accept them. Magic find increases the chances of getting yellow items, but chances are they are still crap. There are far too many possible attributes during item rolls, so as a result you will almost always get items which make no sense whatsoever (example: Wizard hat with Strength, or Barbarian sword with Intelligence, etc.) and weapons in Act 4 of Inferno with 200 DPS. It's infuriating. It is so bad that when I killed Diablo on Inferno he dropped only blues, and not just any blues but TERRIBLE blues, stuff so bad you wouldn't even use it on Hell difficulty.

So you're thinking to yourself, WHY WHY WHY would they do this?! Why make the mobs so difficult and the gear so bad?!?!

WELL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE REACH THE GOAL OF BLIZZARD'S GAME DESIGN IN DIABLO 3: THE REAL MONEY AUCTION HOUSE!!!

As stated Inferno is so ridiculously difficult and the loot generally so bad that the ONLY WAY to progress is to use the Auction House. I only managed to beat the game by bidding low gold on items and shopping intelligently, but it took wayyyy longer than it should have. Not only this, I was BASICALLY FORCED TO USE THE AUCTION HOUSE TO BEAT THE GAME. Trust me this isn't just unique to me because I suck, 90% of my friends gave up at Inferno Act 1, those that stayed have had no choice but to use the Auction House as well. The game isn't skill dependent, it is only gear based.

PROBLEM IS that the gold prices of items have flown through the roof due to inflation, botters, and exploiters. So expect to see any half decent weapon for at least 10 million gold, which is no small amount of money. So a lot of people have resorted to using the Real Money Auction House and it's absolute chaos. I've seen people spending over $500 (yes real cash) on a SINGLE ITEM, a virtual item folks that will probably be obsolete in the next patch or expansion. I personally don't believe in spending real money on video game items (especially absurd amounts like stated above) but to each his own. -----

So I really can't help but feel like the entire game was designed to revolve around the Real Money Auction House. The difficulty is absurd at inferno, many of the bosses are basically gear-checks (can only be beaten with certain amounts of DPS) and the loot is so bad that you have no choice but to use the Auction House.

This game is a money grab, it's pay to win, and I'm not sticking around for when they implement Player vs. Player where it's going to be the battle of the credit cards.

I will admit that I got more than my money's worth and it was fun at times, but this franchise has been ruined and this is by FAR the worst Blizzard game I have ever played. I will not remember this fondly like I do Diablo 2 or the Starcraft Series.

I gave up on Diablo 3, i really dislike the direction that the series moved in with the addition of the auction house, the always online connection needed, and the way they simplified the RPG aspects. I ended up removing it from my hard drive.

I created an account to simply write this review about Diablo III. I was a big fan of Diablo I and Diablo II. I remember staying up all night playing and playing to the point where my friends I passed out. Diablo I actually was a birthday gift from my friend and was simply unforgettable. Now fast forward to Diablo III. Here are the reasons why Diablo III should literally be pulled offI created an account to simply write this review about Diablo III. I was a big fan of Diablo I and Diablo II. I remember staying up all night playing and playing to the point where my friends I passed out. Diablo I actually was a birthday gift from my friend and was simply unforgettable. Now fast forward to Diablo III. Here are the reasons why Diablo III should literally be pulled off shelves and reworked:

1. Online Only Mode - To play this game by yourself you must constantly be online. All the time. No matter what. So this means you must rely on Blizzard's servers which are having a hard time with the volume.This also means when they decide to no longer support those servers your game will most likely be dead unless some private server linking occurs and then you're dependent on them.

2. Short - It took hours upon hours of dedicated work to beat the previous Diablos. This one takes no skill what so ever. The game is extremely linear to point of being 'race tracked' through the plot, start to finish.

3. Lack of Complexity - There isn't much in the way customization in the game. That is to say selecting specific skill groups or where to place points to strengthen the character as you see fit. When you level up you are alerted to what is new and you can select it if you wish. Skills points are automatically placed. Just imagine Need for Speed without the ability to customize the paint on the car... Or your only choices in Call of Duty was M16 or... M16 with an ACOG. I'm exaggerating a bit, but only a bit.

4. Atmosphere - The atmosphere of the first Diablos were incredibly dark and bleak. This one isn't exactly rainbows and unicorns, but it's definitely missing the styling queues from before. Example [spoiler kind of] when there is a reprisal of the Butcher, I expected to see piked bodies and blood splashed about. I saw some blood stains, some empty torture devices, a skeleton here and there, but not the disturbing imagery from before. The kind of imagery that made you apprehensive to put your character forward. Remember this game had gore comparable to Hostel at certain points...

5. Story - It's just terrible. It's just so predictable and so bland. Like the corny, "This mystery man is actually... MR. WITHERS!" type of plot.

Now to talk about the good things.

The things I did appreciate was the male/female versions of the classifications, the new classes offered, but to the detriment of not seeing some older classes. I miss the Necromancer. *Sniff, sniff* I thought the cinematics were great and the voice acting was well done. The music was ambient and was placed nicely. There was some annoying repetition with player/companion npc banter, but nothing too bad. I especially liked the new companion interactions with new areas and new people (additional companions you find along the way). It's like the Wizard of Oz! Ha!

Over all this game is terrible. I wouldn't buy another Blizzard game unless there was an ironclad user review that it wasn't absolute drivel. It seems like the total development time was dedicated to creating this auction house, the cinematics and the online only (DRM) with the game itself being slap dashed together. I think what bothers me the most now is the generally favorable reviews from professional critics. How did this game rate so high? Did they play something we didn't?…Expand

Diablo 3 = Grind to level 60, then grind endlessly for gear with absolutely nothing else to do once your there. Get completely random gear with random rolls with random stats from random things in random places... 99% of which will make you question why it is even in the game. (ie; level60 2-handed weapons dropping in Inferno Act4 with 100-200dps (while(Wouldve given it a ZERO but..)

Diablo 3 = Grind to level 60, then grind endlessly for gear with absolutely nothing else to do once your there. Get completely random gear with random rolls with random stats from random things in random places... 99% of which will make you question why it is even in the game. (ie; level60 2-handed weapons dropping in Inferno Act4 with 100-200dps (while your gonna get murdered with 1000 dps weapons there.) But wait for PVP you say!? Why? So I can enter a game with some moron that dropped $250 on weapons and items in the Real Money Auction system? No thanks.

Summary: This game is 95~99% gear, and 1~5% skill. Anyone still wanna play it?

Good riddens,
Someone elses future customer

P.S. The lack of response to combat the RMT spammers from sending friend invites, chat spam, and now whispers has made this alrady horrible game much much worse. Great job Blizzard. Wont EVER buy one of your half completed products ever again, and its because of your amazingly bad CUSTOMER SERVICE that will cement this decision as I submit my refund ticket.…Expand

The only reason I give this 4 points instead of 0 is because I *did* get ~150 of playtime out of the game, which, based on my videogame-buying philosophy that I want to get at least 1 hour of entertainment per dollar spent on the game, technically means that it was a good purchase. However, the reason I give it such a poor score is because I was expecting to get so much more out of it thanThe only reason I give this 4 points instead of 0 is because I *did* get ~150 of playtime out of the game, which, based on my videogame-buying philosophy that I want to get at least 1 hour of entertainment per dollar spent on the game, technically means that it was a good purchase. However, the reason I give it such a poor score is because I was expecting to get so much more out of it than I did instead of outright quitting after a month of playing it. Simply put, the game is a colossal disappointment. There is *no* way that it took Blizzard so many years to develop this game's engine, graphics, mechanics, etc. It's painfully obvious that the game, from the ground up, was built around the Real Money Auction House business model, and that's what most of its development time was sunk into. The game is probably fun until you hit level 60 and Inferno Difficulty, when you slowly begin to realize that the game was pretty much solely designed as a cash-grab on Blizzard's part. Feedback for the game has been overwhelmingly negative, but in response to this massive blowback, Blizzard has only made changes to the game that I believe only served to make the game even worse and even more of a disappointment. Just ask someone you know who quit, and if they didn't quit before Patch 1.0.3, that patch was almost certainly what pushed them to finally quit (that was the final nail in the coffin for me). It almost looks as if Blizzard is making changes based on what is most likely to force people to use the RMAH. Meanwhile, the Blizzard employees in charge of interacting with the community via the forums remain woefully silent about everyone's main gripes with the game, addressing only things that people largely don't care about, and sometimes being downright condescending to their player base. They really come off as implying "we'll tell you what's fun, and we are making changes to the game based on what we think is fun." It's as if Blizzard is refusing to face up to the fact that most of its fans hate the game and think it's a major disappointment. Many people feel as if they were bait-and-switched, and that they were cheated and lied to, and when one does some detective work pertaining to news about the game's development from years past, it becomes obvious just how many things were shown and then cut out of the game entirely before launch. This has been a major wake-up call for droves of Blizzard's once-loyal fans who auto-purchased all of Blizzard's games. They are starting to realize that this is not the Blizzard we used to know. Unfortunately, all we're dealing with now is another big, faceless game corporation that only cares about its bottom line instead of what its customers want. With Diablo 3 being lambasted from all directions as a major failure and disappointment, and the upcoming WoW expansion being largely regarded as a joke and/or "the death of WoW," it certainly looks like Blizzard is in a downslide, with 2 of its 3 franchises essentially in the toilet. Blizzard better hope it has something damn good up its sleeve with Project Titan. Even though I got so much playtime out of this game before I got fed up and quit, I still feel cheated out of my $60 because I, and everyone, was expecting this game to have so much more longevity.…Expand

Up Yours Blizzard. Up yours with my copy of this short, poorly designed game. Online only? Phsck you for that as well. The only possible reason that it's online only is for the DRM that you're refusing to admit to, nothing to do with the poor excuse of an auction house! It's no wonder you're giving this heap of crap out for free with the year long subscription to WoW. It's just that badUp Yours Blizzard. Up yours with my copy of this short, poorly designed game. Online only? Phsck you for that as well. The only possible reason that it's online only is for the DRM that you're refusing to admit to, nothing to do with the poor excuse of an auction house! It's no wonder you're giving this heap of crap out for free with the year long subscription to WoW. It's just that bad and you dorks know it!.. What the hell were the BETA TESTERS DOING IN THIS GAME!?!?!?!?!?!? Not telling us how poor it was going to be, that's for one sure thing...…Expand

I made an account for the sole purpose of expressing my anger at the poor quality product I was tricked in to spending my money on. To be fair, the game is quite fun and pretty to look at. It's just that since I purchased it a few nights ago I've only been able to get on the network for a grand total of two hours to play a single player game BY MYSELF. Either it won't let me on, or willI made an account for the sole purpose of expressing my anger at the poor quality product I was tricked in to spending my money on. To be fair, the game is quite fun and pretty to look at. It's just that since I purchased it a few nights ago I've only been able to get on the network for a grand total of two hours to play a single player game BY MYSELF. Either it won't let me on, or will tease me for a few minutes before it boots me. I'm glad to see everyones anger at this crap and I hope these crap ratings deter others from purchasing it. If I could return this product I would march down to gamestop and demand my money back. I realize piracy is a complicated issue to control. But I'm getting sick of this whole 'not really owning the things I paid for' thing. I hope the people responsible for screwing this up are having a really bad day. It makes me angry that so many people still crap that companies are having to resort to bs like this. But this isn't the way to do it. I would gladly undergo a slightly more intensive registration process if it meant I could actually play the game I bought without the lag and getting booted. Or not being able to play it at all. I feel like blizzard sold me a product I can't even play.…Expand

So it's been out for a while now, if you are still up in the air about getting it. I would hold off, maybe just skip it and get torchlight or something. Diablo 3 is good, it's comparable to D2. This is the problem, D2 if anyone remembers was pretty unremarkable until LOD was released. This is why I say to go and play something else, and wait till D3 has an expansion. Buy it then, right nowSo it's been out for a while now, if you are still up in the air about getting it. I would hold off, maybe just skip it and get torchlight or something. Diablo 3 is good, it's comparable to D2. This is the problem, D2 if anyone remembers was pretty unremarkable until LOD was released. This is why I say to go and play something else, and wait till D3 has an expansion. Buy it then, right now you're pretty much joining a $60 Long term beta. Complete with outages and game breaking patches. This is my first and probably last review, but with always online requirements breaking a game so consistently, we all need to tell companies that this will not pass and that cheaters, software pirates are their issue, and their issue alone. Oh and on the no LAN support issue, I played this game at a LAN it was a boot fest, I guess the LAN is dead. Sorry kids you missed out on a real great thing.…Expand

This game is so horrible, it's frightening. Jay Wilson has managed to turn a game that the world world was eagerly waiting for into a pile of fresh, hot steaming poop. Firstly, online play only has restricted many players from actually accessing the game in the first play, due to Blizzard's horrible preparation and server maintenance issues. RMAH not ready at release, classes not balanced,This game is so horrible, it's frightening. Jay Wilson has managed to turn a game that the world world was eagerly waiting for into a pile of fresh, hot steaming poop. Firstly, online play only has restricted many players from actually accessing the game in the first play, due to Blizzard's horrible preparation and server maintenance issues. RMAH not ready at release, classes not balanced, difficulty levels not balanced. This game is just NOT FINISHED. We are in "open beta". Welcome to the nightmare, this game is trash.…Expand

Simply put, AVOID this game. Don't be fooled by Blizzard's big name, they just plain failed with this game. The AH is an insult to this type of game, the crafting is a waste of time, drop rates are absurd and the likelihood that you get something for your class is abysmal. If I wanted to grind I'll play WoW, and the worse part of all this was Diablo was almost made into an MMORPG but thenSimply put, AVOID this game. Don't be fooled by Blizzard's big name, they just plain failed with this game. The AH is an insult to this type of game, the crafting is a waste of time, drop rates are absurd and the likelihood that you get something for your class is abysmal. If I wanted to grind I'll play WoW, and the worse part of all this was Diablo was almost made into an MMORPG but then they changed that to the game we know and hate. In THAT game the AH would have worked fine, NOT in this game. And then with the Real Money AH, honestly WTF were they thinking, or what were they trying to accomplish here. All I see that was accomplished was tarnishing the good name the was Diablo. Blizzard is dead to me, Diablo is dead to me. 70 Hours played and nothing to show for it, thanks Bliz, and F&%K You.…Expand

Activision Blizzard's greed knows no bounds. Even though they knew they would sell millions of copies regardless of piracy, they still put in one of the most draconian DRM systems EVER. Just to make a little bit more profit on their already huge profit, they saw fit to screw over all their legitimate customers. The game itself is your typical hack and slash dungeon crawler, not much moreActivision Blizzard's greed knows no bounds. Even though they knew they would sell millions of copies regardless of piracy, they still put in one of the most draconian DRM systems EVER. Just to make a little bit more profit on their already huge profit, they saw fit to screw over all their legitimate customers. The game itself is your typical hack and slash dungeon crawler, not much more to say there.…Expand

I played for about 100 hours on my main character and about 20 hours on the rest of my characters. Unfortunately, as is the standard with Blizzard games, you need to put this amount of time into the game in order to see anything relevant to the actual game. At about Act 4 Hell I discovered that the balance of the game is worked around the Real Money Auction House (RMAH). The reason this isI played for about 100 hours on my main character and about 20 hours on the rest of my characters. Unfortunately, as is the standard with Blizzard games, you need to put this amount of time into the game in order to see anything relevant to the actual game. At about Act 4 Hell I discovered that the balance of the game is worked around the Real Money Auction House (RMAH). The reason this is an issue is because pieces of gear are sold for around 100k minimum yet it takes around 2 hours to farm that amount prior to level 60. At 60, the rates increase a bit, but not enough to carry you to gear that will allow progression through Inferno; this gear is sold upwards of 300k gold each piece. All of this would be moot, except that as many others have also noted, the itemization is abysmal. I understand that not every piece is going to be usable, but over the course of 60 levels I managed to find only 2 or 3 pieces of relevant "rare" gear. This means that you end up playing a Chinese Gold Farming Simulator or opting into the Pay 2 Win (p2w) model. The story is definitely not worth playing for. However, the one saving grace for the game is Covetous Shen. Absolute gold. At least I was lucky enough to never have any connection issues like other players. Happy I got my refund though, as they (developers) severely broke the game. Expect D2 and be incredibly disappointed.…Expand

I hate being negative but sometimes a man´s gotta do what a man´s gotta do. This game sucked big time. There are of course a lot of arguments that can be used and I´m sure my fellow critics have done so already so I´ll keep mine short and explain the thing that bothered me the most. But first of, the positive things.

I like the artwork and the story isnt halfI hate being negative but sometimes a man´s gotta do what a man´s gotta do. This game sucked big time. There are of course a lot of arguments that can be used and I´m sure my fellow critics have done so already so I´ll keep mine short and explain the thing that bothered me the most. But first of, the positive things.

I like the artwork and the story isnt half bad. I didn´t care all that much about the story because western RPG always suck compared to eastern (japanese) RPG:s. To complain about the story is thus a waste of time.

But I have witnessed the ultimate sellout of fans by a company with this game. Vivendi/Activision/Blizzard have lost all track of what made Blizzard such a successful company in the first place. Their hardcore fans, the gamers. With the release of this game, they spat on the face of every gamer out there. They made us buy a game that first of was incomplete, secondly it was unbeatable by default.

Who in their right minds releases a single player game in which a single player cannot finish the game?

Apparently Blizzard does.

This game is impossible to beat on inferno level (which is the endgame) without having to use the auction house. Keep in mind, this is a single player game. Why do I even have to use the Auction House?

For one reason, RMAH (Real Money Auction House).

It´s a great idea for the company, make players buy and sell gear whilst Blizzard makes cash without actually having to work. But for the players this means that the best gear will always sell for cash and that the ingame gold AH (Auction House) gets depleted of the best items.

RMAH is however acceptable even though it´s tacky as hell. If they wanna be greedy, sure go right ahead.

But in this case Blizzard has made the game so hard on inferno level that the usage of the AH was impossible to avoid. If AH is unavoidable then RMAH automatically becomes the next step.

But, don´t you get drops in the game?

Well of course you do, nothing usable but of course you do.

The loot system is innovative, the first game I have ever encountered where the highest item level (ilvl) on drops doesn´t mean that youre getting the best gear. I have gotten alot of the ilvl 63 which is the highest possible and yet I have nothing to show for it. My best gear is actually an ilvl 61 (it´s the best drop I have gotten and it beats my ilvl 63 bought gear), this after 250 hours of gameplay. "Then why do you even have item levels Blizz?", should be the first question they should answer.

Diablo 3 is the biggest pyramid scheme since the pyramids themselves:p and for this Blizzard should take a timeout in the corner and reflect on their shameful behaviour. Standing next to them should be the corrupt media that has given this game a good reviews. Shame on you, the free press, bought and paid for by lazy and greedy developers. I´m still giving this game 3/10 because of the artwork and the 250 hours of gameplay it gave me. But this was the last time Vivendi/Activision/Blizzard get´s a dime from me and I used to be a big fan.…Expand

If you are considering Diablo 3 you more or less know what you are getting in to. You pick a character, fight hordes of monsters, and loot their stuff. But what you might not know is that Diablo 3 is filled with poor design choices that seriously detract from the game play.

The biggest issue for me is the pacing. Blizzard assumes you are going to play the game through three or moreIf you are considering Diablo 3 you more or less know what you are getting in to. You pick a character, fight hordes of monsters, and loot their stuff. But what you might not know is that Diablo 3 is filled with poor design choices that seriously detract from the game play.

The biggest issue for me is the pacing. Blizzard assumes you are going to play the game through three or more times with the same character. But the bulk of most gamers experience is the first play through, perhaps with multiple characters. And Diablo's experience there is decidedly lackluster.

When my wizard finished the game at level 30, only 30% of her skill runes were unlocked That meant that although I had played through all the content I was still very restricted in what I could do with my character. To unlock all my skills, I'd have to play the exact same content with the same character two more times, which honestly I'll probably never do.

The order that the skill runes unlocked was also an issue. All of the core skill runes that my wizard used unlocked by the end of act 1, so I spent acts 2 through 4 with little to look forward to when I leveled. My level was just a number, there was no meaningful change. Yes my hit points went up and damage improved, but the monsters scaled up too, so essentially nothing happened.

Blizzard seemed to attempt to correct for the fact that you'd only have a fraction of your skills on the first play through by making the monsters numerous but easy. You will rarely be in any real danger. You just spam your primary attack, and they all die. Boss monsters can be more challenging, but are hit and miss as well - some easy, some of medium difficulty.

As a side effect of the spam your primary attack "strategy" is that the core mechanics of each class become irrelevant. In theory, the core mechanic of my wizard was her arcane power, which was in limited supply and regenerated slowly. However, the primary attacks of the wizard don't use arcane power and were more than sufficient for most everything you came up against, so arcane power didn't actually matter much. I believe that the class mechanics (rage, chi, etc.) have the same issue.

Put all that together and you can see why the experience on the first play through is not very good. Your character changes little after act 1. 90% of your time is spent spamming your primary attack. At the end of the game, you've only unlocked a fraction of your character; to unlock the rest you have to face the above again. And again.

Besides the pacing, there are also numerous design issues that detract from the game.

The skill UI is horrible. Simply horrible. It's confusing and overly complicated, while at the same time somehow managing to be tremendously restrictive in what you can do. The best thing I can say about the skill interface is that you won't have to use it that often past act 1.

Numerous Diablo 1 & 2 features were stripped out to "streamline" the game, but left confusing remnants. For example, identification scrolls are gone, as they were just cluttering up inventories. OK, I'm fine with that. But oddly, you still find items you have to ID, which you do by right clicking on them and waiting half a second. What's the point of that? Is Blizzard paid by the click or something? Similarly, the complex gem, jewel, and rune system has been removed, as it was complicated and required too much inventory management. But they left a modified gem system in which you can level up a gem cutter to be able to combine gems into other gems that you also won't use, because they are pretty much worthless.

Another poor game design component is how Blizzard treats characters and levels. As a player, a character is someone that I want to customize. Maybe I want my wizard to be a fire wizard, or a lightning wizard, or an illusionist. Levels are what I use to do so. But to Blizzard, the character class is the character... all wizards are the same. Same appearance, same voice, same skills, same back story, etc. And levels aren't a way to customize your character, they are a way to restrict content so that you have to put more hours into the game. Very unappealing approach.

Finally, the decision to force you to be connected to the internet... it definitely detracts from your experience. You WILL have to deal with server downtime and lag. And you WILL receive tells from people out of the blue when you just want to veg. It's annoyingly unnecessary.

All in all, I rate Diablo 3 a 4. It's OK at best. I'd pay $20 for it, but it's definitely not worth $60.…Expand

You can see how out of touch with reality the reviews are these days. So called pro critics all giving the game big scores... (For what is less defined) and very experienced gamers giving a much more reality based view. It is hard to critique this game simply because its an always on game. Brave to release a title like this on this basis. ADSL in most parts of the UK isnt "always on" toYou can see how out of touch with reality the reviews are these days. So called pro critics all giving the game big scores... (For what is less defined) and very experienced gamers giving a much more reality based view. It is hard to critique this game simply because its an always on game. Brave to release a title like this on this basis. ADSL in most parts of the UK isnt "always on" to start with... bad former NTL areas now under the virgin brand are a classic example. I know people that can barely skype for 10 minutes at a time let alone play anything for a long period of time. Add that to the fact Blizzard seem incapable of keeping the servers up and you have a show stopping experience before you even get to the game. In a sense, in this case this is fortunate, because it hides this (MMO) Massive Mediocrity taken Online. It was how long in the making? What were they doing?…Expand

I have spent the last eight hours farming a random drop item to get into whimseyshire, a farming area. I still have not seen the npc pop that has a random chance of letting me get the item I need. this is one of six items required. Is this an asian MMO or what? It is also becoming increasingly clear that you cannot beat the game on the hardest difficulty without using the in-gameI have spent the last eight hours farming a random drop item to get into whimseyshire, a farming area. I still have not seen the npc pop that has a random chance of letting me get the item I need. this is one of six items required. Is this an asian MMO or what? It is also becoming increasingly clear that you cannot beat the game on the hardest difficulty without using the in-game Auction House(which is now shifting into real money sales). Steer clear of this game, Blizzard has finally put out a dud.…Expand

I've been playing this game since day one. I accepted the bad launch and plague of problems that followed, thinking it would be worth it in the end. I waited and waited for the patch which made inferno remotely possible for players to enjoy. At every turn I was disappointed. The game lacks the character and ambiance of Diablo 2 and the fact that it was produced by the creators of WoW,I've been playing this game since day one. I accepted the bad launch and plague of problems that followed, thinking it would be worth it in the end. I waited and waited for the patch which made inferno remotely possible for players to enjoy. At every turn I was disappointed. The game lacks the character and ambiance of Diablo 2 and the fact that it was produced by the creators of WoW, not the original Diablo 2 team, really shows. The game is built around the real money auction house. Even the gold auction house is a farce because people can buy gold from Blizzard which in turn bumps up the gold prices to up to unattainable heights. I would not recommend this game to anyone hoping for a continuation of the game play or feel of Diablo 2. The story sucks, the voice acting is bad, characters feel hollow and music is a massive downgrade from it's predecessor. The only way to succeed in the endgame is to purchase your items. Terrible game from a greedy developer - stay away from this one.…Expand

I have played over 100 hours of this game only to be stone walled because I don't have several hundred dollars for the Real Money AH or millions of gold to gear my barbarian in ACT 4 gear just so I can progress into act 2. Melee is completely at a dis-advantage in this game and besides that. It is extremely dumb ed down with no skill points or talent points it is nothing but a linear ARPGI have played over 100 hours of this game only to be stone walled because I don't have several hundred dollars for the Real Money AH or millions of gold to gear my barbarian in ACT 4 gear just so I can progress into act 2. Melee is completely at a dis-advantage in this game and besides that. It is extremely dumb ed down with no skill points or talent points it is nothing but a linear ARPG with limited action after you beat the game once. How much fun is farming the same 4 acts to get to level 60 then at level 60 you get to farm act 1 inferno that has a 2% chance to drop gear that is even level 60 most of it that drops prevents you from progressing sense it is the same exact thing you can get from act 3 hell.

This game was an extreme disappointment and should be sued for false advertising. i wonder when the beta version will stop being sold and we can purchase the real release in 2013…Expand

Do not deserve a better note than 3,7 :Connection errors, no SP, and a good amount of bugs. Played it for 3 hours after I finally got back on to their bad servers.... thank God they didn't actually put SP in. The gameplay overall is just bad and so far the story is worse than the others. Overall so far it is just trash with the Diablo name on it.

It comes down to this, it is not a $60 game, there is maybe $20 worth of content here. This game is massively repetitive and it is designed to waste your time. The story is mediocre, the controls are sluggish, the balance is bad, there is no path finding at all for your character so you get stuck walking around corners. The only plus side really is it is a game you can play with yourIt comes down to this, it is not a $60 game, there is maybe $20 worth of content here. This game is massively repetitive and it is designed to waste your time. The story is mediocre, the controls are sluggish, the balance is bad, there is no path finding at all for your character so you get stuck walking around corners. The only plus side really is it is a game you can play with your friends, well after they patch the multyplayer issues. Oh and you will never find loot good enough to progress through the difficulties without using the auction house. There are man many games worth paying over this one. This is the first time a Blizzard product has flat out disappointed me.…Expand

One of the most disappointing games of 2012. I was really looking forward to this game since I stopped playing Diablo 2 in 2004. I was in the beta and the first 15 levels up to skeleton king showed lots of promise. The graphics while not cutting edge are crisp, the environmental effects are done well, and the spell animations are great. Unfortunately what the beta did not test (and IOne of the most disappointing games of 2012. I was really looking forward to this game since I stopped playing Diablo 2 in 2004. I was in the beta and the first 15 levels up to skeleton king showed lots of promise. The graphics while not cutting edge are crisp, the environmental effects are done well, and the spell animations are great. Unfortunately what the beta did not test (and I really wish it did!) was the end game. There are tons of issues why Diablo 3 fails at this, but here most of them in list form: 1) Blizzard's decision to allow ultimate flexibility with skills/specs, but at the same time limiting spec changing is just poor design. There is nothing fun about feeling like you can spec in numerous ways to overcome unique challenges, and then have to maintain some stale spec for the majority of your level 60 experience. Don't get me started if you accidentally mouse click near your skills as you can drag the skills off and reset your buff that gives you extra chance at finding gear the more elites you kill (stacks up to 5). As a demon hunter there are very few viable builds that will allow reliable killing of elite packs -- which is really where the end game is. 2) This brings me to my next point, killing elite packs that sometimes have insane affixes is not fun. Invulnerable minions and some other combinations are near impossible. Sometimes these mobs are positioned in areas where you can't actually progress unless you lure them away into a corner after repeated deaths. Sometimes the best solution is restarting the game which in my mind shows that this is also pretty bad design. 3) Blizzard gives us mixed messages on item stats. At one point they want you to be able to kill things quickly (hence the enrage timers), but on the other hand you sometimes need ridiculous amounts of defense stats to withstand normal wear and tear of battle. Gear that has the ideal mix of defense/offense is like winning the lottery. 4) Essentially the worst part of Diablo 3 is the fact that despite how long you may farm inferno and I have for weeks, you really never get anything decent. The amount of crap loot I've got for doing the same thing over and over again in Act 3/4 on inferno is mesmerizing. Accumulating gold requires playing hell or Act I inferno (where the chance to get good items is 2% or less, so its just gold farming). Since when is gold farming good game design? 5) Lastly the fact the real money auction house is even available despite the fact that over 2-3 weeks of farming nearly nightly for 2-4 hours I did not receive one upgrade from my demon hunter (with my friend playing as well) makes me think Blizzard wants this game to make money for them rather than have any good design or enjoyment. Lastly, haphazard patches with very little communication of what's changing or stealth nerfs makes me think this game really isn't salvageable. Extremely disappointing game with what could have been huge potential.…Expand

However in reviewing Diablo 3 I must take into account the flaws in Blizzards ability to deliver said gaming experience.
Blizzards requirement to have us always be online is detrimental to the gaming experience as a whole offered up by Diablo 3. Previous Diablo games could be enjoyed solo or withBugs and server issues notwithstanding Diablo 3 is in fact a fun gaming experience.

However in reviewing Diablo 3 I must take into account the flaws in Blizzards ability to deliver said gaming experience.

Blizzards requirement to have us always be online is detrimental to the gaming experience as a whole offered up by Diablo 3. Previous Diablo games could be enjoyed solo or with others online and I think that it's reasonable to assume that the third game in the franchise would hold up to that basic tenet of the series.

That is simply not the case.
Multiplayer is fine, I expect outages, I expect connection issues from time to time. This is not an MMO however and the game is designed to be able to be played solo as well, but it is here that the connection issues are not welcome. Lag in any other single player game would be considered a bug so it is is not justifiable in any way here.

Blizzards decision to protect the RMAH at the expense of our gaming experience is reprehensible.

Although the game looks very nice, due to the server and technical problems is currently unplayable. I bought the game two weeks after the release and here is what I've got: Day I - it works, nice game; Day II - it works, but there are lags and time jumps (e.g. game moves one second back in time randomly and I have very fast LAN connection to Internet); Day III - server maintenance +Although the game looks very nice, due to the server and technical problems is currently unplayable. I bought the game two weeks after the release and here is what I've got: Day I - it works, nice game; Day II - it works, but there are lags and time jumps (e.g. game moves one second back in time randomly and I have very fast LAN connection to Internet); Day III - server maintenance + client version bug; Day IV - infamous error 37; Day V - Stuck at "Retrieving hero list"; Day VI - Error 300008. So for 6 days I had 1.5 days of working service, what gives 25% service availability :(…Expand

Blizzard is deleting posts on the diablo 3 forums about refund rights and constructive critisism.I have never seen such an effort pulled by the community managers to censor the truth about Greedablo 3.The game itself is shallow, souless, nothing like diablo 1 and 2. I have been a fan Blizzard games since the early days of warcraft 1 and starcraft. I'm afraid there is NOTHING left of theBlizzard is deleting posts on the diablo 3 forums about refund rights and constructive critisism.I have never seen such an effort pulled by the community managers to censor the truth about Greedablo 3.The game itself is shallow, souless, nothing like diablo 1 and 2. I have been a fan Blizzard games since the early days of warcraft 1 and starcraft. I'm afraid there is NOTHING left of the old Blizz team. The true masterminds moved to other companies and only shallowness remains.…Expand

Bought the game a few days after release, really enjoyed normal, nightmare and hell modes. The difficulty scaling felt just right and some of the drops I could use. However, I am now in act 2 of inferno and I am bored stiff. There is no real strategy in this game, the boss fights are not very imaginative and the elite packs are dull. With most elite packs in inferno, you will end upBought the game a few days after release, really enjoyed normal, nightmare and hell modes. The difficulty scaling felt just right and some of the drops I could use. However, I am now in act 2 of inferno and I am bored stiff. There is no real strategy in this game, the boss fights are not very imaginative and the elite packs are dull. With most elite packs in inferno, you will end up resorting to hit and run tactics for about 10 minutes until you burn down all their HP. For all this effort you will pick up rubbish equipment that is always for another class. I wish the loot tables meant equipment dropped I could actually use. I don't mind using the AH, wont ever be using the RMAH but just now and then it would be nice if I could run a dungeon and find something worth equipping. A side from the boring progression in Inferno and lack of decent loot, I wish there was more randomization to the game dungeons as it is soo boring doing the same quests/dungeons over and over and over!!!!!!!! Blizzard are right to admit that D3 has no end game... it's flawed! If I had my time again I wouldn't spent my money on this game. Hoping Torchlight 2 bring more enjoyment.…Expand

avarage story and avarage graphics. A way too brief game for it's price. It's not even worth half the money. I mean, i won this so quickly, it felt like a joke to play it. I personally do not recommend the game to anybody, unless you can get it for free. I said to my friend, don't buy this, he tried mine through normal and he couldn't agree more. Blizzard needs to freshen up a bit. It'savarage story and avarage graphics. A way too brief game for it's price. It's not even worth half the money. I mean, i won this so quickly, it felt like a joke to play it. I personally do not recommend the game to anybody, unless you can get it for free. I said to my friend, don't buy this, he tried mine through normal and he couldn't agree more. Blizzard needs to freshen up a bit. It's getting old.…Expand

I'm just going to keep this short and sweet. Being kicked out of playing a SINGLE PLAYER game is a joke! I paused the game to keep up and grab a drink and something to eat, came back to my computer to see an error message saying I was kicked out of the game and honestly was shocked. My single player game that I was playing by myself was cancelled (so I had to re clear a massive area as itI'm just going to keep this short and sweet. Being kicked out of playing a SINGLE PLAYER game is a joke! I paused the game to keep up and grab a drink and something to eat, came back to my computer to see an error message saying I was kicked out of the game and honestly was shocked. My single player game that I was playing by myself was cancelled (so I had to re clear a massive area as it only loads you to the last checkpoint) and additionally the servers go down. In fact I think the server's go down weekly now (which I never knew about).

Sadly the only people enjoying this game to it's full potential are the pirates as they have no server downtime and they aren't kicked from their single player experience. Activision (I refuse to call them Blizzard as that company is long since dead now) have really screwed up with this.…Expand

Accounts getting hacked left and right like mine. Server issues still after a week or so of launch. Release day was terrible...and for a company who can support MMO launches without a hitch...no excuse for not letting me playing single player.

This is a Free to Play MMO that you have to buy. It even will have an item mall. Try everything you hate about MMOs and none of the stuff you like. In a single player game. And god help you if you log into public games. Hacking is unbelievably common. people logging in and stealing your stuff. Fortunately Blizzard will happily sell you an authenticator for six bucks. Do not buy this game.This is a Free to Play MMO that you have to buy. It even will have an item mall. Try everything you hate about MMOs and none of the stuff you like. In a single player game. And god help you if you log into public games. Hacking is unbelievably common. people logging in and stealing your stuff. Fortunately Blizzard will happily sell you an authenticator for six bucks. Do not buy this game. Or, if you must, first search for "5 Creepy Ways video games are trying to get you hooked", an article from cracked. Read that and understand that this is all diablo is about. Addictive treadmilling. You have no significant customization options, no significant means to influence your characters build (No Knife and dagger Demon Hunters... not if you don't want to die every encounter). At best you get dualwield, sword and board, or two hander... and even the differences between these two are negligible. What I'm trying to say here is that the play is extremely shallow. It lacks any kind of depth and if you've followed the diablo mythology for any length of time you'll pretty much know exactly how it'll end about ten, maybe fifteen minutes in. This is not an exaggeration. I figured it out roughly that quickly. However, if you're dumber than a box of hammers you'll get to learn the exact same thing I figured out about 20 hours later when you've completed the game. All that's left is higher difficulty. Mind you, higher difficulty doesn't really unlock any significant new options (you have character progression til sixty but you'll beat the game on normal around 30)... The critics were either bought and paid for or too terrified of knocking blizzards new MMO. I cannot stress this enough. This game is an enormous con job the likes to which, in roughly 20 years+ of gaming) I've never seen before.…Expand

I'm really surprised out how blatantly biased these game "critics" are. Do these people actually get paid? I've read so many of these 100% reviews that it literally churns the stomach. How can anyone think this game is good? It's 13 hours of solid gameplay, then the rest is repetitive grind. The voice acting is TERRIBLE. Terrible, god damn it. The game's customization steered away fromI'm really surprised out how blatantly biased these game "critics" are. Do these people actually get paid? I've read so many of these 100% reviews that it literally churns the stomach. How can anyone think this game is good? It's 13 hours of solid gameplay, then the rest is repetitive grind. The voice acting is TERRIBLE. Terrible, god damn it. The game's customization steered away from talent trees to this dumbed down "pick 6 skills and mash" system. Look up diablo 2 on gamefaqs and at their indepth/character guides and recognize how watered down this game is, compared to it's predecessor. The graphics are straight from the 2004 era, which, I can understand, considering blizzard strong arms you into playing online, but they could have at least used cell-shaded graphics. As it stands I won't buy the sequel, or any blizzard game at this point. It's down right appalling that people still buy the mountains of **** blizzard craps out and call it gold. This game is not gold, it's a long, tedious grind, that won't even last you 3 days. Worst of all, it's a loot game but it's so painfully randomized that you could spend your whole day grinding, even using exploits to make it go by faster, and never find a single piece of useful gear. You are better off going to the royal crypts loaded up with +Gold find, and buying **** off the AH. I have a firm belief that every game should last it's cost in hours. Diablo should have brought to me 60 hours of enjoyable time spent for the 60 bucks I had to pay. Instead I played it for 13 hours, enjoyed the cinematics, then the other 26 hours I begrudgingly put into it, I was banging my head against the desk, and the only thing that made it even remotely tolerable or why I kept going to begin with was because I had 6 people to play it with. I got skyrim 2 weeks ago and I'd say I'm about 20% through the **** game and still loving it. Sufficed to say, I haven't even touched diablo since and don't have the slightest desire to pick it up again, even if I played a new class. Blizzard really doesn't respect it's fanbase at all, if they think they can get away with marketing this and expecting us to eat it up. Game get's a 2/10, for not meeting my hour to cost quota, wasting 20+ hours of my life, and in all honesty, being drastically underwhelming for a game I have been waiting 10-11 years for. What. a. letdown.…Expand

It is bad when you have to update a review and lower an already low score. Low poly models, bad lightning, shader issues, lack of camera movement / zoom. We can list them but we can say: many similar games share these traits. Lag spikes, disconnects, error 37... Ok, some online games stay this unstable for weeks long, Diablo III isn't all alone. Online only single player encourages accountIt is bad when you have to update a review and lower an already low score. Low poly models, bad lightning, shader issues, lack of camera movement / zoom. We can list them but we can say: many similar games share these traits. Lag spikes, disconnects, error 37... Ok, some online games stay this unstable for weeks long, Diablo III isn't all alone. Online only single player encourages account hacking but doesn't prevent item duplication? That is bad. And even worse with server side achievement and AH bugs. We can speak about stability issues, hacking incidents, AH bugs, item duplication and other things. We can point to the fact, there is no PVP because the game is half finished. We can see frequent hotfixes because of huge balance problems that shows how some abilities weren't tested at all. We see numerous smaller or bigger issues. We can see how Blizzard lied in russian key related scandals. But sadly when many people tell you, "it was easy to this point, but now I can't make a progress at all" and good drops just don't want to drop even after days... Then you have to say the game can offer you two things: Boredom because you see no challenge, or boredom because the game is too hard. Where is the fun part? Ok, "flow" (if you learned about psychology) and mindless farming can be "motivating" and "fun" for some. But the same people would have fun as factory workers as well.

Why the game can't even have short part where the difficulty is just right and you can enjoy it? Why everyone sees easy progress then hit a wall and see "no progress"? Because the balancing mechanism that help to set proper difficulty are just wrong, and small tweaks and adjustment can't fix it. The core game mechanism is flawed and it needs a total redesign. This with the well known issues is enough to rate this game as a 0/10.…Expand

Gameplay/fun = 7.5 - (When playable)Server/support = 0 - Game is not playable in current form - spend some money on Australian serversRPG elements = 5 - little customisation no way to make a great (or bad) character as all players are the same if leveled up
Graphics = 5 - ok but from 5 years ago
Story = 7 - what you expect for this type of game
Verdict = Simplified but fun game whenGameplay/fun = 7.5 - (When playable)Server/support = 0 - Game is not playable in current form - spend some money on Australian serversRPG elements = 5 - little customisation no way to make a great (or bad) character as all players are the same if leveled upGraphics = 5 - ok but from 5 years agoStory = 7 - what you expect for this type of gameVerdict = Simplified but fun game when playable, should have been better. Recommendations - don't buy it in Australia at the Aussie price - at peak hours you may not be able to play the game you paid for or it will lag sooo much you will smash your computer in frustration. Wait for Torchlight 2 at half the price and double the fun. If the game was playable wih decent server support then score would be 6/10 but after buying a game I would like to play it and I can't. Might be ok if another company did this too me but Blizzard should give us better with their multiplayer history and amounts of money from making the game.…Expand

Disappointment
This pretty much sums the entire game.. and big. .fat.. disappointment.
If you played D1 or D2 or both and are expecting the same experience....dont bother.
After reading the reviews (witch I have to agree 100% with) I find myself surprised that no one has mentioned the HORRIBLE loot system this game has... I mean.. DEAR GOD! One of the things that made D2 "fun" to playDisappointment
This pretty much sums the entire game.. and big. .fat.. disappointment.
If you played D1 or D2 or both and are expecting the same experience....dont bother.
After reading the reviews (witch I have to agree 100% with) I find myself surprised that no one has mentioned the HORRIBLE loot system this game has... I mean.. DEAR GOD! One of the things that made D2 "fun" to play was the loot, but in this game is just crap.. Maybe Im too used to WoW's format..blues are better than white...yellow (in this case is better than blue) and orange (witch are legendary items are far better than any other color) well.. this is not the case.. you can find a legendary or a yellow and 20 min later find a blue item witch is a lot better than both, at the same lvl requirement .... what?
Another observation....I found me a really nice "Wizard" hat.... and by wizard I mean "only a wizard can equip" .. with dexterity and strenght for stats... again.. .what? The random factor on item's stats is absurd!
Last but not least.. loot rewards.. you can get a yellow out of a damned barrel! or random champion packs, but when you kill a boss.. when you kill DIABLO..THE LAST BOSS IN THE GAME.. he drops 1 or 2 blues..it feels so .. unrewarding.…Expand

1) Online DRM: Worst idea in the history of gaming.2) Constant single Player lag, disconnections, and Server down time.3) Story line is very sub par considering it took 11 years to come up with.
4) Graphics are average.
5) Terrible Skill system, offers very little configuration options.
6) Completely Linear Story line, makes replayability no fun at all.
7) Blizzard Diablo Forums very1) Online DRM: Worst idea in the history of gaming.2) Constant single Player lag, disconnections, and Server down time.3) Story line is very sub par considering it took 11 years to come up with.4) Graphics are average.5) Terrible Skill system, offers very little configuration options.6) Completely Linear Story line, makes replayability no fun at all.7) Blizzard Diablo Forums very poorly supported as to complaints, questions, and concerns. Blue responses are late, arrogant, and biased.…Expand

I wish people would realize that a majority of these negative reviews have nothing to do with the launch day. The itemization is awful, and lacks none of d2's former glory. I should CRAVE that rare drop, want it with every fiber of my being and get tingles of anticipation when I go to identify it. Not get random WoW-like stats that are horrible for any character (Str and Int, Dex and Str,I wish people would realize that a majority of these negative reviews have nothing to do with the launch day. The itemization is awful, and lacks none of d2's former glory. I should CRAVE that rare drop, want it with every fiber of my being and get tingles of anticipation when I go to identify it. Not get random WoW-like stats that are horrible for any character (Str and Int, Dex and Str, Fury Regeneration on a Demon Hunter weapon, etc). There was no care put into this game at all and lacks everything that made Diablo 'Diablo'.…Expand

Absolutely disappointing and uninspired game which simply circles around a casino-system. Blizzard ransacks the chance for properly working game mechanics which would never disturb the always-online-"experience" in order to generate maximum revenues via the real money auction house.

2/10 is all I an do for this game.I can't even get a refund for it. All I wanted was an action role playing game that I could enjoy for a few gaming sessions.And what happened? First, I was in a QUEUE. Yes, the servers where full and I couldn't play the game. Not even in single player.
After HOURS of waiting, I finally got to play the game. The first thing I noticed was some kind of2/10 is all I an do for this game.I can't even get a refund for it. All I wanted was an action role playing game that I could enjoy for a few gaming sessions.And what happened? First, I was in a QUEUE. Yes, the servers where full and I couldn't play the game. Not even in single player.After HOURS of waiting, I finally got to play the game. The first thing I noticed was some kind of strange blur filter, which made the graphics blurry all the time. I looked for a fix online, because you couldn't turn it of in the options. The only thing I found was a graphic mod, but Blizzard said you would get banned if they catch you using it.So, I had the choice of playing the game with a bad looking filter or risk getting banned. I chose the first option and tried to not look at the screen for more than an hour. But while playing, I noticed that you couldn't skill or built your character like in Diablo 1+2 or similar action role playing games. You get every skill during level ups and perks like in call of duty. That's nice and all, but I got really bored of playing the game after a few hours.I picked it up again today and found no motivation playing this at all anymore. I forced myself to finish it on normal difficulty, took me about 5-6 hours while exploring everything. The first act is kinda boring, act 2 get a lot better, act 3 and act 4 are a joke in terms of length. The levels are very linear, and you just run along corridors, without much to explore.I was really hyped for the game and this is one of the biggest disappointments in video game history for me. I still can't believe they legalized item/gold-selling with the real money auction house, giving Chinese farmers a legitimate platform for virtual item selling. On top of that, players stop trading with valuable items and just try to sell them for real money.

I'm feeling ripped of by Blizzard with this game and I can't even get my money back for it.…Expand

Huge disappointment. Story was meh. Servers are crap (I love lag in a single player game...) and are constantly being brought down/restarted. AH still doesn't work. PvP isn't even in the game. Act 4 was never actually finished. Nothing is remotely balanced. Endless bugs (from pathing/jittering to stupid follower AI to item stats that don't even work to boss abilities that bug out, IHuge disappointment. Story was meh. Servers are crap (I love lag in a single player game...) and are constantly being brought down/restarted. AH still doesn't work. PvP isn't even in the game. Act 4 was never actually finished. Nothing is remotely balanced. Endless bugs (from pathing/jittering to stupid follower AI to item stats that don't even work to boss abilities that bug out, I could go on for pages...) End game revolves around the AH, as there's no feasible way to grind or farm the gear needed to progress without buying off the AH (the one the doesn't work). With the RMAH in the works blizz made sure that the only way to succeed was to buy your way through inferno. In the end its a 60$ bug fest that is pay to win... Oh how the mighty have fallen.…Expand

I've never been so amped up for a game just to be so horribly let down. After 2 weeks I can't even find the desire to log on anymore. Nobody told me that if you play a Monk or a Barb YOU WILL BE FORCED TO USE A SHIELD AND TANK, which is asinine considering this isn't an MMO. Yet that is exactly what it feels like, a heavily watered down free to play MMO. There are glaring holes in theI've never been so amped up for a game just to be so horribly let down. After 2 weeks I can't even find the desire to log on anymore. Nobody told me that if you play a Monk or a Barb YOU WILL BE FORCED TO USE A SHIELD AND TANK, which is asinine considering this isn't an MMO. Yet that is exactly what it feels like, a heavily watered down free to play MMO. There are glaring holes in the story which is pretty awful, the item and affix system is just terrible. If you enjoyed D1 and D2 avoid this game, you will be greatly disappointed. After the lengthy development time you would think that D3 would be great, it's almost mediocre at best.…Expand

Continues the story of Diablo. Act 1 had a good story. Act 2 onward was crap. Expected twists. Fun game to Hell. Tough game in Inferno. Crafting is not as fun as expected. Too reliant on Auction House to gear up, and yet it is often not working. Servers often down, preventing Single Player. I miss the lobby to chat with other people. I was expecting better graphics and a varied look ofContinues the story of Diablo. Act 1 had a good story. Act 2 onward was crap. Expected twists. Fun game to Hell. Tough game in Inferno. Crafting is not as fun as expected. Too reliant on Auction House to gear up, and yet it is often not working. Servers often down, preventing Single Player. I miss the lobby to chat with other people. I was expecting better graphics and a varied look of equipment. I played slightly over 100 hours with a single character and I have yet to see my first Unique or Set item. I'd buy this game if it were $20, and I'd play it for 20 hours. Sad. Very.…Expand

The blizzard has announced this game back in 2008, after years and years of postponements, Blizzard say : because we want to release the game in perfect balance and bug-free ...... Blizzard you failed... today 30 may 2012 me and my friend can't play because " server is full" IS A SINGLE PLAYER GAME, blizzrad say that the permanent need of connection for Diablo III is useful becauseThe blizzard has announced this game back in 2008, after years and years of postponements, Blizzard say : because we want to release the game in perfect balance and bug-free ...... Blizzard you failed... today 30 may 2012 me and my friend can't play because " server is full" IS A SINGLE PLAYER GAME, blizzrad say that the permanent need of connection for Diablo III is useful because this improve the gameplay... i don't think so .... this DESTROY the gameplay : because more are the days that I was unable to play !! For the game i say:Crafting system ....pathetic.... when i craft i must hope that i can craft a piece that i need...story of the game so much banal and pathetic... ( i know diablo 1 and diablo 2 story)longevity..... (with all esploration room ) The game is very short and there is no desire to replaygraphic not is too bad but they can do better...Bye...sorry bad english but i'm italian…Expand

Stay away from this big bag of rubbish its not worth your time, money or bodily fluids. Its bad in every way and it lets its fans down in everything it does or tries to do. Blizzard must have paid all these critics a good deal of money for them to give this unholy mess such good reviews.

Story is very weak, quite pathetic actually, and the feeling of the original series is lost. It was the story, the atmosphere surrounding it, the sense of realism as well along with the balanced fantasy aspects that made the two first installments of the series fit so well with me. The visual style of the game has lost much of it's dark feeling of the first games. Instead, it is now veiledStory is very weak, quite pathetic actually, and the feeling of the original series is lost. It was the story, the atmosphere surrounding it, the sense of realism as well along with the balanced fantasy aspects that made the two first installments of the series fit so well with me. The visual style of the game has lost much of it's dark feeling of the first games. Instead, it is now veiled with a cartoonish style, rendered in a manner that further alienates it from the original style from 1 and 2. The graphics just are not Diablo for me. Skill structure is a huge let down and as crazy it may sound, I think Blizzard rushed to release this, and considering it has been twelve years in the making, that is quite an achievement. Huge disappointment.…Expand

Diablo 3 is a disgrace to the franchise and a slap in the face to its fanbase. The story is terrible and predictable with cheesy dialogue. The graphics are almost 10 years old. No singleplayer. Pay to win. Always online. There is zero social aspect to the game. Diablo 2 had the main chat lobby where you could see other players and their gear, as well as interact with them in a multiDiablo 3 is a disgrace to the franchise and a slap in the face to its fanbase. The story is terrible and predictable with cheesy dialogue. The graphics are almost 10 years old. No singleplayer. Pay to win. Always online. There is zero social aspect to the game. Diablo 2 had the main chat lobby where you could see other players and their gear, as well as interact with them in a multi channel chat interface. Diablo 3 has one pathetic "general chat" which is plagued by an ungodly amount of gold farmers spamming relentlessly. One will find themselves forced to leave the channel instantly. The item database is garbage. Blue "magic" items are generally the best in the game and "legendaries" are a complete joke. One will often find class specific items full of worthless attributes (e.g. intelligence on a "mighty" 2handed barbarian only club). Terrible. I think the auction house is the worst feature this lackluster game has to offer. It literally gives no incentive to playing the game at all. Lets say you get to a boss in act 3 and it's too difficult to beat with your current gear (i.e. gear check fights which are also lame). Instead of going back through the act and farming lower level content to gear up, the auction house is right there to solve your problems in a few clicks. Seriously, whats the point to trying to farm decent gear when you can just buy it for a few thousand gold and then steamroll the boss you were stuck on. I could go on but I find myself filling up with rage. I can't believe I waited years for this garbage to come out. The game is in beta mode at best. What has happened to the gaming industry? Remember when games had to stand on their own two feet and were sold as is? Those were the best. Now were stuck with mainstream casual friendly mega corporations with the "we'll patch it later" mentality. So sad. RIP Blizzard North.…Expand

Game driven by Blizz' greediness . Every change they make reflects it fully .
I've played D2 a decade ago, but this seems more like a miniature WoW rather than a hack and slash. Where you can just brag about your gear and call anyone with lower stats a noob, other than that not much to do.
Also this system of taxes in both GAH and RMAH makes you feel you're some kinda Blizzard employeeGame driven by Blizz' greediness . Every change they make reflects it fully .
I've played D2 a decade ago, but this seems more like a miniature WoW rather than a hack and slash. Where you can just brag about your gear and call anyone with lower stats a noob, other than that not much to do.
Also this system of taxes in both GAH and RMAH makes you feel you're some kinda Blizzard employee and in fact you are making money for them . Just like drug dealers do .…Expand

The game is fun until you reach level 60 and inferno. Then it gets boring. Farming the same spot way too many times and only getting **** items isn't my idea of fun. The game is built around tha AH, and when the economy is ruined by bots the RMAH is the only way to go. Diablo 3 should be about killing monsters and finding cool items you could use, but it's not. I'ts repetetive avd it getsThe game is fun until you reach level 60 and inferno. Then it gets boring. Farming the same spot way too many times and only getting **** items isn't my idea of fun. The game is built around tha AH, and when the economy is ruined by bots the RMAH is the only way to go. Diablo 3 should be about killing monsters and finding cool items you could use, but it's not. I'ts repetetive avd it gets really boring really fast…Expand

As a die hard D2 fan I was extremely disappointed by this game. The lack of variability in attributes and skills makes each class homogeneous with its equivalent level (I remember beating people in PvP when they were 20+ levels higher - that was the fun!). You no longer drop you body when you die, so there is no real reason to worry about it. You don't really get to the "good stuff"As a die hard D2 fan I was extremely disappointed by this game. The lack of variability in attributes and skills makes each class homogeneous with its equivalent level (I remember beating people in PvP when they were 20+ levels higher - that was the fun!). You no longer drop you body when you die, so there is no real reason to worry about it. You don't really get to the "good stuff" until level 60+. The game is also too short, the areas are not particularly big and always the same. The side quests are boring and often make little or no sense. Levelling up makes enemies that were impossible suddenly extremely easy. To add insult to injury, the storyline is awful. The game no longer feels scary like D2, but cartoon-esque. The auction house also ruins the game by offering items better than you ever find.

This is such a shame for a game that could have been so great. Really really disappointed with it. The Diablo franchise is dead (thankfully the D2 servers are still up!).…Expand

I would love to give this a zero, but in all honesty the art guys did their job, and the game looks great. But as a sequel to D2, it is a major disappointment. After spending 4+ years of promising the community that this was the best Diablo ever, Blizzard finally released this dumbed down, incomplete, buggy, boring, un-fun abomination. I really don't need to repeat what's wrong with thisI would love to give this a zero, but in all honesty the art guys did their job, and the game looks great. But as a sequel to D2, it is a major disappointment. After spending 4+ years of promising the community that this was the best Diablo ever, Blizzard finally released this dumbed down, incomplete, buggy, boring, un-fun abomination. I really don't need to repeat what's wrong with this game: just go to the BattleNet forums. There are many, many well reasoned posts like this [http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/6246475567] outlining the flaws in this game, and some pretty decent fixes proposed by the community. Sadly, Blizzard isn't listening. Equally, the so-called "critics" have failed the community. Only Armchair Empire [http://www.ae-infinite.com/2012/06/review-diablo-iii-pc.html] got it right.

Sorry, I'm not thankful, and I have no plans to buy the expansion unless this is fixed.…Expand

I read the reviews. I chose to ignore them. I loved D2 and for some reason figured that the user reviews MUST have it wrong. Turns out the users are the ones who are right; I wish I paid more attention to them. Learn from my mistake! This game is a waste of money and does not follow in the footsteps of its' predecessor.

I plan to keep my distance from this iteration. Having played on a friend's computer, I can say I neither like 1.) how Blizzard feels about their customers, and 2.) how they make their games nowadays (and what their games are, in consequence).

Diablo 3 is a game where none of the original authors were involved in creating the sequel. In this case, it amounts to an analogy of R. A.I plan to keep my distance from this iteration. Having played on a friend's computer, I can say I neither like 1.) how Blizzard feels about their customers, and 2.) how they make their games nowadays (and what their games are, in consequence).

Diablo 3 is a game where none of the original authors were involved in creating the sequel. In this case, it amounts to an analogy of R. A. Salvatore writing "Lord of the Rings 2", or the author of Twilight authoring "Crime and Punishment 2". The changes are just too contradictory to what Diablo 1 and 2 represented. Why did Blizzard North get sacked? Because they had artistic integrity? Just look at the original plans for D3, from the early 2000's, they say a lot about how the game was really meant to be. It is really disappointing that the original project got scrapped. Besides, the vast majority even on Blizzard's site have stated they definitely prefer the originally planned art, even in this day when graphics and all is supposed to be better, and many of whom state this really appreciate graphics in general.

A game is primarily defined by what emotion or feeling it gives to the player. This is done via artistic and conceptual vision. Diablo 3 does not feel ANYTHING like D2. Smoothness and high-performing requirements can be good things, but very often are just otherwise.

People game for the EXPERIENCE, not the way you swing your hammer, how neat the inventory looks or how fast a button-click responds. The experience is both intellectual and artistic. But Diablo 3's ambient qualities just plummeted to regular cartoons, and mindless DPS-viewing.
It IS cartoony as by the saturated candy-whooping animations and designs, silly (wow, a boss named "Skeleton king"... wow, how cheesy), simplistic (they've scrapped the whole stat and skill system, and in fact, all LOGIC behind choosing skills instead you'll just choose and construct a "role" or animations). It IS simply dumbed-down both artisticly and stat-wise.

Ok, whoever enjoys MMO's (and Blizzard's oh-so-inspirational WoW in particular), you can be delighted by this game. But it is nowhere near art as opposed to originals.

Not to mention that the originals were SINGLE-PLAYER GAMES, that actually ALLOWED playing the game. Whereas this iteration throws other players in your game, without you having any intention of playing with them (not to mention the damned DRM). And on top of all, this MULTIPLAYER game does not allow for competitive multiplayer nor LAN.

Diablo III wasn't like the previous sequel which made me disappointed - a lot. D3 is much more simpler than D2 which made the game less enjoyable, I bet a huge part of D3 players agreed with me. I smelled a rat that the in-game fun factor was a little interfered with some blizzard's monkey businesses. But I'm sure enough if the game were sold at USD 10 instead of 60 , it would be more worth it.

Items are what makes Diablo and the items suck compared to D2, all the cool affixes are gone aka cannot be frozen, % chance to cast so and so,Only Ive seen is chance to cast fear but nothing like chance to cast molten or anything that would be considered remotely enjoyable.Skill system is nothing nerfs are left and right Legendary are super rare , im on Hell and haven't seen one yet,. OnItems are what makes Diablo and the items suck compared to D2, all the cool affixes are gone aka cannot be frozen, % chance to cast so and so,Only Ive seen is chance to cast fear but nothing like chance to cast molten or anything that would be considered remotely enjoyable.Skill system is nothing nerfs are left and right Legendary are super rare , im on Hell and haven't seen one yet,. On D2 they were rare but in 1 act you would get atleast 1 or 2.not to mention people are getting hacked left and rightThe crafting system is ruined by the auction house since for less money you can get exactly what you want instead of gambling on randomsIn short it just doesn't feel like diablo

btw most of the negative reviews here including mine HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH LAUNCH DAY YOU MORONS! its the gameplay!!…Expand

1) the server maintenance is getting very very annoying, offline frequently, seriously avoid this game if you have no patience.2) the map isn't as random as D2, only the breakables and chests are randomly placed.3) the game requires you to play to higher difficulties to fully unlock the features. meaning if you want to upgrade to the highest level / craft the ultimate jewel, you have to1) the server maintenance is getting very very annoying, offline frequently, seriously avoid this game if you have no patience.2) the map isn't as random as D2, only the breakables and chests are randomly placed.3) the game requires you to play to higher difficulties to fully unlock the features. meaning if you want to upgrade to the highest level / craft the ultimate jewel, you have to be in hell mode or inferno mode......…Expand

Blizzard North disappeared and see what it gave : something that shouldn't have been called Diablo...Rainbows in Diablo, are you kidding me ? Too easy, no skill tree, always online DRM, no PVP in the open world...

No, the game isn't as horrible as people make it out to be, but it's still the most disappointing Blizzard title to date. The graphics may be severely dated, the gameplay might be lackluster and tedious at times, and there is extremely limited variety among random item modifiers -- but the game is still fun -- although perhaps not $60-fun. I recommend it to people who are head over heelsNo, the game isn't as horrible as people make it out to be, but it's still the most disappointing Blizzard title to date. The graphics may be severely dated, the gameplay might be lackluster and tedious at times, and there is extremely limited variety among random item modifiers -- but the game is still fun -- although perhaps not $60-fun. I recommend it to people who are head over heels in love with the Diablo series but nobody else.

The game has plenty of great details, such as the fantastic-looking environments and animations despite the outdated graphics engine. The gameplay is fun, but it gets tedious very quickly -- Normal / Nightmare difficulties are way too easy, and Hell / Inferno are nothing more than inflated difficulty (insanely high HP/Damage) that require you to grind for better gear. The only new enemies you fight are ones that have gimmick abilities you must dodge (like of like a mario party minigame) and aren't actually any more difficult AI-wise. Really, they could have done a lot more in the 6+ years of development.

My issues with the game seem to be endless at times. The always-online DRM, the constant server problems and lag, frame-drops (my computer can handle most games at maxed GFX, but I still get frame-drops in Diablo 3), no PvP on launch, and I digress. One of my biggest complaints is that the auction house is a miserable excuse for a way to exchange items between players; with clunky searching options, maximum of 10 auctions at a time, and you cannot take items down once you've put them up -- so they are stuck there for 2 days unless they sell. So all in all, not the worst purchase I've ever made, but it's definitely one of the biggest let-downs.…Expand

NOT ABOUT THE CONNECTION ISSUES! : This is the death of the franchise. It should not even be considered to be the D2 sequel or part of the Diablo world. The quests, the storytelling, the plot are all utter garbage. Cheesy and lousy dialogues all the way, anticlimactic plots and twists, play this crap and witness D2 being tortured. But not for long! -as this crap have a redeeming veryNOT ABOUT THE CONNECTION ISSUES! : This is the death of the franchise. It should not even be considered to be the D2 sequel or part of the Diablo world. The quests, the storytelling, the plot are all utter garbage. Cheesy and lousy dialogues all the way, anticlimactic plots and twists, play this crap and witness D2 being tortured. But not for long! -as this crap have a redeeming very little life span and longevity. So, this is the let down of my gamer life. Blizzard and its team should never have had this project on their hands, they are the fat kids of the gaming industry: they ruin everything.I wish with all my heart and all my might this poser of a sequel FAILS, DIE AND BURN.

Biggest disappointment of gaming history. Gameplay oversimplified to a point where players don't need a brain to play - this means there's no interaction at all. Lobby system from D2 is taken out and replaced by an auction house as well as a "public game" button which only ever puts you with 1 other person. I actually like the idea of auction house. However, implementing a real moneyBiggest disappointment of gaming history. Gameplay oversimplified to a point where players don't need a brain to play - this means there's no interaction at all. Lobby system from D2 is taken out and replaced by an auction house as well as a "public game" button which only ever puts you with 1 other person. I actually like the idea of auction house. However, implementing a real money version of it just doesn't cut it. Aside from the social perspective, the gameplay itself is just bland. There is no character customization at all - no attribute points, no skill tress, etc. The only differences between characters are only the selection of the skills and the gear itself. I understand that some may argue there is customization in terms of picking which skills you use, but keep in mind that SELECTION differs from CUSTOMIZATION. The lack of customization prevents players from being attached to their characters, and this causes players get bored easily. The other part of "customization" in D3 is related to gear. However, the gear-farming system is just too broken. Blue (magic) equipment can even be better than Legendary (Unique) items because of the random stats that Legendary items give. What's the point of gear farming then if I could just buy items off the auction house? Oh right, I forgot that Blizard makes a % profit per auction house trade. Quests are too simple and straight forward; they're either "go through the dungeon" or "kill this monster". There is no sidequest; you have to follow the storeline almost 90% of the time. One other thing that pisses me off is that you're not really encouraged to freely warp to maps other than your primary quest location because it does not give you any incentive - drop rates are crappy and you only get a decent amount of EXP if you finish the quests. The connection required requirement is also a concern, but it doesn't really affect me because I'm more into the multiplayer aspect of the game. Graphics are nice. Sound and BGM are okay. Overall, if you're used to be an avid player of Diablo 2, do not purchase this game because it will disappoint you. This is an extremely overhyped game. If only Blizzard were to focus on funding on the development of the game instead advertisements...…Expand

A poorly balanced game that lacks everything that made the series fun. In order to get upgrades from loot drops, you have to kill monsters above your current level of gear, this becomes more and more impossible as you progress, and by Inferno becomes impossible. This makes the game eventually turn into "Auction House Tycoon" instead of Diablo. The auction house becomes as optional toA poorly balanced game that lacks everything that made the series fun. In order to get upgrades from loot drops, you have to kill monsters above your current level of gear, this becomes more and more impossible as you progress, and by Inferno becomes impossible. This makes the game eventually turn into "Auction House Tycoon" instead of Diablo. The auction house becomes as optional to game progression as a keyboard is option to using a computer, and basically drains all the fun from the game. You stop hunting for items and quickly start farming for gold to buy them from others instead.

Always online DRM is lag filled and further ruins the experience. I've literally lost track of the number of times I have died directly due to server lag. In a game like Diablo, thats ALL action, where every tenth of second matters...having a constant 150-200 ms connection ruins the game.

I would recommend avoiding, save your $60, you'll save yourself a lot of frustration, far too many bad choices made during development.…Expand

Mkay so I'm 100 hours into the game and i dislike it more with every hour played. Its not about difficulty lvl - fresh after getting to 60 i geared up from ah with like 1 mil gold and act 1 was easy mode. First time i did it died maybe few times entire act, had to skip one elite pack that had too nasty skills for my class. Constant connection? Meh, dced few times in total so its not aMkay so I'm 100 hours into the game and i dislike it more with every hour played. Its not about difficulty lvl - fresh after getting to 60 i geared up from ah with like 1 mil gold and act 1 was easy mode. First time i did it died maybe few times entire act, had to skip one elite pack that had too nasty skills for my class. Constant connection? Meh, dced few times in total so its not a biggie . But cant imagine playing in hardcore. One dc/lag and you're done... Increased repair bills ? As i said i don't die that much. What i REALLY HATE is how I'm forced to use ah all the time. During leveling if you don't use ah then you will find yourself running in gear thats for 20-30 lvls lower. Good luck with that. As lvl 60 i have ONE item that dropped from monster i killed. Other then that every single piece of equipment came from ah. Is that how games suppose to be played? I don't think so. I don't mind farming, played Korean mmo for almost 3 years ... but i need to know that there's some reward waiting for me in the end. What diablo offers? Ability to sell my gear at rmah once I'm done with it? I don't need to make money out of games, it suppose to be fun not work. If i spent 10 hours in game killing monsters and in the end i don't have even one item i can equip then whats the point. Why as lvl 60 in highest difficulty 80% of my drops are for low lvls? Another 19 has some messed up stats. Maybe 1% is worth selling in ah... Diablo feels to me more like on line market simulator than action RPG. Sure you can play the market, get rich, buy best stuff available in game but ... I rather play something else.…Expand

Never again will I purchase a game from blizzard. My first time buying and my last. Selling a game that negates the entire idea of playing single player. You must be online to play a single player campaign? Just terrible. This is the biggest waste of money I've ever spent on a game.

More and More Server Disconnection. 3 times in 10 minutes. Give us a break, Give us a single player without constant internet connection!! I am a fan of Diablo, however, this has become a pain. Yes. Understand it is Friday evening, but I want to play single player mode anytime, anywhere. The constant network disconnection took the fun out of it. We paid for the game, not paid for theMore and More Server Disconnection. 3 times in 10 minutes. Give us a break, Give us a single player without constant internet connection!! I am a fan of Diablo, however, this has become a pain. Yes. Understand it is Friday evening, but I want to play single player mode anytime, anywhere. The constant network disconnection took the fun out of it. We paid for the game, not paid for the disconnection and disruption of the game flow.…Expand

Don't waste your money on this joke. Don't let the fanboy's sway you with the 10's they are putting up for a game that they themselves can't login to...lol...login to a single player game. Silly Blizzard.

There are almost double the amount of negative posts than positive posts--for a reason. (keep in mind, online "professional" sites get money from the Companies they review. Big titles always are rated well, even when we know they suck. A positive rating is easy to buy.)

The Money Shop is why you MUST play On-line for a SOLO game. You must always connect to the internet to play. NoThere are almost double the amount of negative posts than positive posts--for a reason. (keep in mind, online "professional" sites get money from the Companies they review. Big titles always are rated well, even when we know they suck. A positive rating is easy to buy.)

The Money Shop is why you MUST play On-line for a SOLO game. You must always connect to the internet to play. No matter what. To cater to people that like to Pay to Win. Pay to Win. Blizz supports it and built the entire game around it. You don't do it, you will be left behind. Have fun with that if you can.

WoW's success and Starcraft and Diablo mean Blizz can do many things wrong for a few years and people will still eat it up. Just like Final Fantasy can do almost anything and get a hit, Blizz can produce mediocre content and get people to buy.

If you read the perfect score reviews, notice they say D3 is not as good as D2. They rate D3 a "10" but then call a game OVER 12 YEARS OLD AS BETTER! Really? But D3 is still a 10? Graphics are cartoony. You are Bugs Bunny battling the armies of Elmer Fudd. Welcome to Looney Tunes. Gone are the serious tones of Diablo. The graphics are also low quality. Animations are jumpy (not smooth) making it look like a beta still. Your character has no customization. Is this a 2012 game or 1999? People are blaming "kids" for the poor reviews. Kids didn't play D2. D3 is the first experience they'd have, so if they were kids, it would be positive remarks. People next blame fans of D2 for the hate of D3. D2 is old, and no one wants to play that anymore. They want better. Instead, they get a game aimed at children. If people are hating D3 for not being superior to D2, something is very wrong with the game.

The game is short. Very short. Beyond short. And easy. I could go on and on about why it is just sup-par Pay to Win crap. But I'll leave it at this: Wait until the game has been out for 2-3 years and is patched up, then buy it for $10-15. It is NOT worth the over-priced buggy junk that it is now.…Expand

The inability of servers to handle load on launch day or any other day is not the issue. Constant all-time online-DRM is just not right and no amount of justification, excuses, amazing gameplay or graphics (not necessarily in this game) can set that right.

I've played about 100 hours of this game. I really tried my hardest not to quit before that, but the further I got the more I missed D2:LoD. There was a lot of opportunity for a good plot, amazing gameplay, unique itemization and character building, but it was lost on the developer team somewhere.

The youtube videos from 2008 have more content that the current game for some reason. ItI've played about 100 hours of this game. I really tried my hardest not to quit before that, but the further I got the more I missed D2:LoD. There was a lot of opportunity for a good plot, amazing gameplay, unique itemization and character building, but it was lost on the developer team somewhere.

The youtube videos from 2008 have more content that the current game for some reason. It was a great game for a while, but as something I expected to play all summer and having the Diablo namesake, it failed miserably. I would consider this a pretty decent game for $20 on steam, but not for $60. It's not a spiritual successor to D2 nor is it even related imho.

For just one example of these issues with D3 comparable to D2 and other games check out this link:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/brother-laz-explains-whats-wrong-with-diablo-iiis-legendaries

People on here seem to want to rant and write novels about this game. Short and sweet, here it is:

1. No offline single player. I travel and want to play on the plane, overseas, etc. Not an option. The freezing, lag and kicking off is unacceptable for what's supposed to be a single player game. If you want to make a multiplayer only game then advertize it as such and don't do it toPeople on here seem to want to rant and write novels about this game. Short and sweet, here it is:

1. No offline single player. I travel and want to play on the plane, overseas, etc. Not an option. The freezing, lag and kicking off is unacceptable for what's supposed to be a single player game. If you want to make a multiplayer only game then advertize it as such and don't do it to an anticipated sequel of previous offline games.

2. Where are the really great items I've collected? Oh their gone because I've been hacked. Great job Blizzard. Wouldn't be an issue if you took care of issue 1.

3. Awful story, even worse than the light story from the previous games. At least they were compelling.

4. Good for people who simply enjoy getting stuff and killing things. Perfect game for greedy, idiotic American manboys. This game will be a huge hit, make tons of money and ruin gaming for about 10 years. Those of us who enjoy story, action, suspense and tension will have to suck it up for a while. It's the Kim Kardashian of games; all hype, no substance, makes tons of money and you can't figure out why.…Expand

User score on this site is getting lower and lower. To be honest, Diablo 3 deserve that low score. Come to think of it, it has been 5 weeks since diablo 3 was released and their server fixing arent finished yet. I hope that blizzard company will simply rot.

A story that the fans cracked literally years before release, difficulty-setting with gear-dependance that had the AH in their sights since day one, epically failed launch and still on-going with latency roller-coasters, unresponsive controls and just obnoxious enemies around every corner.

The philosophy that Jay used to "Turning people hardcore" by making a game impossible to play laterA story that the fans cracked literally years before release, difficulty-setting with gear-dependance that had the AH in their sights since day one, epically failed launch and still on-going with latency roller-coasters, unresponsive controls and just obnoxious enemies around every corner.

The philosophy that Jay used to "Turning people hardcore" by making a game impossible to play later stages without dipping money into the auction house is no way to please customers. It feels forced, necessary and dumb. If you want to make people "hardcore gamers", make a game addictive and fun instead of this miserable pile of **** which guarantees death, disappointment and endless grinding accompanied by an extremely lacking service lever after level. As far as the appeal go, graphics are extremely outdated and just like Wow, no matter how much you polish them, they will still look old along with a REPETITIVE story accompanying REPETITIVE game-play with a REPETITIVE set of maps that has no true "randomization" involved besides a small pool of maps and don't get me started on the music. Bye bye Matt. What's blizzard's first thought? FILL EVERYTHING WITH AS MUCH ORCHESTRA AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE BECAUSE THAT'S ALWAYS A GOOD MOVE. Thanks for leaving me hanging in over 10 years just to kick me in the balls, blizz.…Expand

Terrible game. Absolute insult to customers, especially fans of diablo 1 and 2. Game completley ignores what made the first two great. Childish graphics, removal of sill trees and attribute points, loot is awful and predetermined as opposed to randomized loot like the originals, elimination of randomized dungeons(an aspect of the first two which was considered revolutionary), aTerrible game. Absolute insult to customers, especially fans of diablo 1 and 2. Game completley ignores what made the first two great. Childish graphics, removal of sill trees and attribute points, loot is awful and predetermined as opposed to randomized loot like the originals, elimination of randomized dungeons(an aspect of the first two which was considered revolutionary), a ridiculous auction house and an even more absurd real money auction house that forces you to dish out real money to recieve any gear that is decent, a development team that repeadedly insults its custormers by ignoring them and telling them how they should play, and the worst part...No offline mode. If you enjoy terrible game design and being treated like a child, then this game is for you.…Expand

What can I say about Diablo 3? Well, it did a good job gettng me hyped, too bad it doesn't quite live up to it. How could it really? About 10 years in the making, it almost became Duke Nukem Forever, in quite a literal sense too... Too many bad choices by the devs, always online DRM, the dumbed down skill-system and the far to linear levels... Which by the way, aren't that interesting.What can I say about Diablo 3? Well, it did a good job gettng me hyped, too bad it doesn't quite live up to it. How could it really? About 10 years in the making, it almost became Duke Nukem Forever, in quite a literal sense too... Too many bad choices by the devs, always online DRM, the dumbed down skill-system and the far to linear levels... Which by the way, aren't that interesting. This game called Diablo 3 just doesn't feel like Diablo, it feels like a chore to play this game. I want to play Diablo 3 by myself, that's what I like to do, so having to log into servers to play singleplayer just feels wrong. The game in itself feels lacking anyway, I can't help to wonder what they've been doing all this time. The only really fun thing about this game is the skills and costumizing them, even though they are quite few compared to Diablo 3. Actually, I can't quite grasp the fact that it's this dumbed down, now town portal scrolls or identify scrolls are needed, just wait a bit. I was actually surprised when I found a piece of armor I had to identify, since I didn't know how I figured I'd learn it later but then I saw the icon, "click to identify", I clicked and after a sec it was identified, I was amazed... What was the point of even having unidentified items to begin with? To make it a surprise what you picked up? I don't know why this game was released this way, new devs mixed in with the fact that it's been touched by Activision? Who knows, but all I know is that it's hard to recommend it even to fans, I'd say those who are most likely to enjoy it is people wanting a gateway into RPG's, but if you want something deeper and more meaningful then just keep looking since even Skyrim has this beat in complexity. I have no choice but to give this the score of 4/10, I'll keep playing it, but I won't feel that good about it... Only good thing about this is the Music and the few Skills there are, if that's enough then go right ahead and buy it. It's more mindless fun than a deep experience, which disappointed me atleast.…Expand

This game is so utterly bad, that even writing this is more than it deserves. There is nothing fun about it except the first few-dozen hours of initial gameplay, it has no depth, it has no quality script, it has nothing original, it's in fact regression in every aspect. This game would never have sold if it wasn't signed Blizzard and it pains me so many of us buy something like this,This game is so utterly bad, that even writing this is more than it deserves. There is nothing fun about it except the first few-dozen hours of initial gameplay, it has no depth, it has no quality script, it has nothing original, it's in fact regression in every aspect. This game would never have sold if it wasn't signed Blizzard and it pains me so many of us buy something like this, expecting something good from a supposedly good company only to be served STUPIDLY expensive (80+ dollars at some time!!!!) CRAP. I am not going to buy Blizzard game ever again, I'm done with this company. They used to make good games, now it seems they just cash-in on their established brand. Like every **** business these days.…Expand

This game is just another proof of how greedy Blizzard became. Diablo 3 just beat the 60 bucks plank and breached to a new level - 77$ in my region. And what do we get for that price? 1) Poor story. Re-usage of everything that was in Diablo 2, and nothing new. 2) Internet connection needed to play in single player. Screw this, i don't want to not be able to play a game i paid for justThis game is just another proof of how greedy Blizzard became. Diablo 3 just beat the 60 bucks plank and breached to a new level - 77$ in my region. And what do we get for that price? 1) Poor story. Re-usage of everything that was in Diablo 2, and nothing new. 2) Internet connection needed to play in single player. Screw this, i don't want to not be able to play a game i paid for just because Blizzard servers are screwed up.3) No LAN. Nuff said.4) All characters look awful. Male Demon Hunter and Mage look like some emo, but definitely not like a world savers. 5) In-game action house is just a way to ruin balance for players. And for Blizzard, it's another way to milk us.6) The game is too short. Some Korean beat it in 12 hours and 29 minutes. Wut? Wondering what took Blizzard so long to make that game...7) And finally, as 95% of new games on the market, it became casual. Yep, a game for those who don't give a crap about character customization, challenge, and plot. As everyone already said: no skill points to spend, everything upgrades itself just like in World of Warcraft, all abilities unlocking automatically, et cetera. It's not Action-RPG anymore. The RPG part is merely an illusion. The rating you see here, totally explains the quality of this game. And for all those fan-boys out there who gives Diablo 3 more than 6 score: after the "new shiny thing wow effect" fades away, take a closer look, and see for yourself, how awful the game market looks like now.…Expand

Lobotomized stats system; dumbed-down skills system; artistic style in the form of warm, pastel, childrens' story-book illustrations rather than a seedy, musky, murky, dank, dark and cold realistic gothic aesthetic (to win-over their Warcraft customer base, rather than for sensible reasons of coherent artistic vision); no offline-play, no real single-player, dumbed down runes, itemization,Lobotomized stats system; dumbed-down skills system; artistic style in the form of warm, pastel, childrens' story-book illustrations rather than a seedy, musky, murky, dank, dark and cold realistic gothic aesthetic (to win-over their Warcraft customer base, rather than for sensible reasons of coherent artistic vision); no offline-play, no real single-player, dumbed down runes, itemization, and health systems? Overly-easy, banal gameplay? The world lacks feeling; there is a loss of the atmospheric mood of the previous games - and my character doesn't feel like my own, because it's not customizable (in the interests of "accessibility"? I'm out. Blizzard established three new, thoughtful IPs in '94, '96 and '98. It's not 2012 and not only have they done nothing new, but the sequels themselves are even starting to be poor shadows of their legacy. I have no doubt it will sell well, but some of us define success on more meaningful terms. I'm out.

My one major complaint is that the game never feels very difficult, especially on Normal. There are frustrating moments, hordes of baddies, and increasing difficulty levels, but the same feeling of utter defeat never really happens as it did in the past.

For all the game's missteps, though, you certainly can't accuse Blizzard of phoning it in - if anything, the game suffers from the tendency to try a little to hard at times to evolve the design. [Aug 2012, p.61]